The White Dragon

HALLUCINATIONS AND ROOKS REST

THE WHITE DRAGON CHAPTER 42: HALLUCINATIONS AND ROOKS REST

A FANFICTION ON HBO'S HOUSE OF THE DRAGON

CARSON

The winds that passed through the many halls in Harrenhal sounding like an orchestra of ghosts mocking those who chose to sleep beneath it's walls. Tossing and turning beneath the thin sheets Carson tries to sleep only for the sounds of ravens cawing, the squeaks of the bats that line the halls make and Caraxes soft broken screeches in the large weirwood forest. Sitting up Carson rubs at his tired eyes before squinting at a shadow in the distance carrying a torch before scurrying off into the distance. Getting out from his bed Carson grabs his sword before charging out of the door before raising a hand to block his eyes as the sun shines overhead.

Taking a moment to allow his eyes to adjust before watching a silver haired man train against a purple haired one, both striking blades against the other beneath the hot blazing son. "Father! Baela's egg is hatching!!" A girl yells and the two warriors halt their training with the silver haired man running off after his daughter.

'If this was when Baela's egg hatched then...' Carson thinks before the purple haired man turns to face him. His face was blurred and his voice muffled yet he knew who it was. "Father. It's me Carson." Tears form in the young man's eyes as he realizes why his father's face was blurred and why his voice was muffled. 'I cannot remember what he sounds like or even the smile on his face.' Turning his head down Carson sobs silently wondering what trick this had to be. He never dreamed and if he started to start dreaming now then why did the Gods mock him enough to hide his father's face. A grunt of pain sounds and Carson looks back to see his father crouched slightly, his sword discarded in the sand and Aerys' standing over him, his sword coated in red and a cold sneer on his face.

Charging forward Carson lets out a roar like no other only for Aerys to turn to him with a black flaming sword that strikes against Carson's and Aerys bares his teeth before shoving the boy backwards. Preparing to thrust his blade Carson yells "Face me you bastard! Face me so that I might avenge my father. Do it!" Rather than charge towards him, the figure of Aerys instead retreats back into a puff of smoke shaped like a dragon's skull with a haunting smile on his face. Blinking rapidly Carson finds himself seated beside the pale youthful face of Oscar Tully who answered the summon in place of his grandfather Lord Grover.

The doors to the dining room opens and Daemon enters pinching the bridge of his nose and the young heir to Riverrun stands and stammers "Your... pri... my prince... my Grace... I mean your Grace." Daemon turns to Ser Simon Strong, the castellan of Harrenhal with a raised brow and remarks "Lord Grover is looking more hail and healthy than I expected." The aging uncle of the former Lord Lyonel Strong smiles and clears his throat "This is Ser Oscar Tully, grandson to Lord Grover Tully. He is heir to Riverrun and the future Lord Paramount of all the Riverlands."

'A knight? The boy looks as if he's quaking in his boots. How is this runt of a man made a knight before me?' Carson thinks bitterly and watches as Daemon places his sword against the table before sitting beside the heir to Riverrun. "It was an honor to receive your invitation your grace." Oscar says with a nervous smile and Daemon returns it with a wry one before resting his faux Valyrian steel hand on the table "Indeed."

"How fares your grandsire?" Daemon asks and Oscar's eyes turn sad "Sadly he remains incapacitated. He lies in a kind of waking sleep, unable to do much more than to take meager drink. It is barely enough to sustain him." Carson watches as Daemon begins to bounce his knee in frustration and sighs "So he is alive then." Oscar smiles at that and nods "Yes he is gods be good." Daemon rolls his eyes at the remark and states "Well my time here is short and I am in need of an army. Perhaps you might place a feathered pillow over his head and speed along your inheritance." Oscar's eyes go wide and he stutters as he responds "I... I... I love my grandsire like a father. My own Lord father died suddenly, himself a young man." As Daemon's knee bounces quicker and his jaw begins to work in a grinding motion Carson turns to the Tully knight and asks "Can you speak with your grandsire's voice. Can you return to Riverrun and order for Lords Bracken, Mallister and Frey to renew their fealty and conscript their levies to join us here or not?"